


and who is the knife

by Muir_Wolf



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-08
Updated: 2013-03-08
Packaged: 2017-12-04 15:05:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/712086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Muir_Wolf/pseuds/Muir_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during Lazarus; Tish decides she needs to talk to the Doctor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and who is the knife

**Author's Note:**

> ty Robyn for the prompt! <3

“Look,” he says, trying to politely shake Martha’s sister’s hand off his sleeve, “look, yes, hi, lovely to see you, must go stop all these nice people from being killed, so—”

“No, you look,” she says. She narrows her eyes at him and tightens her grip, pointing at herself with her free hand. “Tish,” she says, the _you prick_ , silent, but still clearly audible. “You have forty seconds to spare, given my sister’s no doubt saved your life a time or two by now.”

“I didn’t—why did—she wouldn’t have _told_ you, so how—”

“Oh god, has she really? You’re dragging her around the universe and you can’t even be bothered to do the saving?” Tish says, her voice rising. The Doctor looks around, mildly frantic—he’s never done that well with family members.

“It’s not like that,” he says, his voice dropping to something almost hushed. “It’s more we—we’ve saved each other. Look after each other. I won’t let her get hurt, Tish.”

“Promises are easier said than kept,” she says. “Look at you—pretty face, clever mind, and a magic bloody box. I’d be very surprised if you haven’t left a string of broken hearts behind you.”

The Doctor winces at that, almost physically pained by memories that are never buried as deeply as he’d like them to be.

“This life isn’t for everyone,” he says. “But Martha—oh, Martha Jones. Give your sister her due. She was born to live among the stars.”

Tish shakes her head, biting her bottom lip. “Things like that,” she says. “I’ve always been the one with my head in the clouds, and Martha’s always been so grounded, so responsible, always gone after what she wanted. She wants to be a doctor.”

“And someday she’s going to be brilliant,” he says. “You think a pretty face and a clever mind and a magic bloody box could ever keep her from what she wanted to be doing?”

“And if you’re what she wants to be doing, Doctor?” she asks bluntly. A dull flush sweeps up his face, and he swallows thickly. “I’m her sister,” Tish says. “I’m not blind.”

“I won’t talk to you about that before I talk to her,” he says firmly. “She’s not here because of me, though. You think she’s meant to be a doctor because you’ve seen her in that setting, but the truth of it is that she’s more than that. More than she even realizes. And the moment she wants to go home, I’ll take her home, but the things your Martha Jones can do, Tish—”

Tish cocks her head to the side, surprise slowly sliding across her features. “You do care about her, don’t you?”

“Of course I care about her,” he says, offended. “Do you think I ask just anyone to be my companion? Do you think I trust just anyone to have my back? And now I need to have hers, so good talk but I need to go make sure everyone here doesn’t end up dying, your sister included.”

He turns on his heel and starts off, but Tish calls him, and he turns back.

“If you break her heart,” she says. “Doctor, I don’t care where or when you run to, if you break her heart I’ll find you.”

The Doctor smiles, fleeting and almost bittersweet.

“Oh Tish,” he says. “We both know it’s much, much more likely that she’ll break mine.”


End file.
